


Duty Is The Death Of Love

by daenyara



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Arranged Marriage, F/F, F/M, Fluff, GoT au, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Jealousy, Mild Blood, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-30
Updated: 2019-05-30
Packaged: 2020-03-29 21:15:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,944
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19028089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daenyara/pseuds/daenyara
Summary: Marrying the King should be a good thing, too bad you’re in love with the Captain of the Royal Guard.





	Duty Is The Death Of Love

_It’s the end of fall, and the last few golden leaves are quickly leaving the trees. Soon winter will come, and everything will be painted in pale sunlight and candid snow._

_“He’s a good man,” you sigh, watching the blond man as he spars from the balcony of your room._

_He’s strong and fast. His sword cuts the air with swift blows as he easily strikes down his opponents one by one, making it seem almost effortless._

_Carol’s jaw hurts, her teeth furiously clenched together. “He sure is a handsome one.”_

_You let out a small chuckle. “Are you jealous?”_

_“Why should I be? You’re only marrying him.”_

_The words are poison in her mouth, and once she has spoken them you can feel their venomous grip on your heart. The smiles that graced your lips fades._

_Not once in your life had you thought about sitting on the Iron Throne. Power was your sister’s ambition, not yours, and unlike you, she was a natural leader. But when illness had taken her away from you, you could either marry the King or let your people starve. Yours wasn’t a rich House like the Lannisters or the Tyrells. All you had, was a good name and many acres of uncultivable lands. Luckily, King Steven was more than happy to marry you despite that, struck by your spirit as much as your beauty._

_In the time you had spent together in King’ Landing, while the preparations for your wedding proceeded, he had come to love you. You were strong-willed and opinionated, but kind and loving towards those who needed comfort. And he was everything a man should be and more, which made you appreciate his company greatly. Yet, the face of the one you loved still filled your mind, both when you dreamed and when you were asleep._

_“It’s a political marriage.” Your voice comes out in a murmur, barely audible over the clangs of swords and shields clashing together. You throw a glance at Carol, your eyes heavy with sadness. “I’m sorry, I have no other choice, my people need this union and I’m responsible for them.” You can hear the pathetic sound of pleading in your voice, but you don’t care._

_“I know,” she replies, forcing herself to smile because she can see the tears in the corners of her eyes. She cannot blame you for this, it’s not what you deserve. “You’re doing the right thing.” If only it felt that way. With her hand tightening on the pommel of her Valyrian steel sword, she bows and marches away, whispering a soft ‘My lady’ that gets lost in the wind._

_There’s an old saying in your country that says, ‘duty is the death of love’. As you watch her walking away, you can’t help but think that truer words were ever spoken._

**_***_ **

_“Can I join you?”_

_Startled, you turn to face king Steven⎼ Steve, he asked you to call him. You flash a smile at him and nod, the moonlight reflecting on your silky hair._

_“Please.”_

_He stands at your side, leaning on the cold stone balcony. It’s your favourite place, you can see the gardens from there. Steve is silent for a while, then he glances at you. “There’s something I’ve been meaning to discuss with you. It’s about our marriage.” You swallow, unsure about how this is going. “My lady, are you going to be happy?”_

_The question leaves you speechless for a moment, and you stare at him with wide eyes. “Of course!” you stutter, your voice a bit louder than you intended. Trying to get a hold of yourself, you take a deep breath. “I already am.”_

_“Speak freely. You have nothing to fear.” Steve is smiling, but he can’t look at you. He’s too afraid of what he might see in your eyes. When he speaks again, his voice is calm, but there’s a hint of sadness in it that you don’t fail to notice. “I understand that if you were free to marry whoever you wanted, this wedding would never take place.”_

_“Your grace⎼”_

_But he cuts you off. “I’m not a fool, I can see that you don’t love me. We’re both here because we have duties. The fact that you’re willing to sacrifice your own happiness for the sake of your people means, at the very least, that you and I both take our duty seriously.” Steve exhales sharply, and when he looks at you there’s real guilt in his eyes. “I’m sorry you cannot live your life with the freedom you deserve. But I swear to you: I will not harm you nor force you in any way, ever. I shall treat you with respect and I will always be loyal to you and only you. I hope that one day, you’ll come to feel differently about me.”_

_You wish you could love him the way he deserves. Everything would be easier._

_“I do like you.” You reach out to take his hand, squeezing it gently. “You’re kind, brave, and just.”_

_Steve chuckles, as the pain of understanding crushes his chest. “But?”_

_“I have loved one person my entire life.” You say it without hesitation because there’s nothing uncertain about your love for Carol. Even when the two of you were kids, you already knew._

_“Your guard. Carol, is it?”_

_A wave of terror washes over you and you let go of Steve’s hand. How can he know? He shouldn’t know, it’s not safe for you, and especially not for her. People wouldn’t understand. Love is scary to most of them, so much that they always search for new reasons to kill those who aren’t afraid of it. If their secret was to be revealed, Carol would be the first to suffer the consequences, and what happens to her happens to you._

_Steve can read the fear in your expression and shakes his head._

_“You have nothing to fear from me. I suspected it. She looks at you as if the whole world begins and ends with you. I almost envy it, being able to love someone that much,” he smiles._

_He doesn’t realize that he looks at you that very same way. He may not be the love of your life, but you are the love of his._

_Your thoughts go to Carol once again, and you flash a teary smile back at Steve. “There was never hope for us. I always knew I was going to marry someone else, at some point. I’m glad it’s you, Steven.”_

##  *********

Steve marches into the room, his breath heavy the lump in his throat. The sickbay is crowded, after the attack.

“What happened?”

One of the guards whimpers as a maester applies a bandage on his arm to try and stop the bleeding. He meets his king’s gaze, scared. “We were ambushed. The Captain was injured, we were forced to retreat.”

A few beds away, Carol is lying on her side, clearly beaten. Steve hisses.

“ _Where’s my wife?_ ” he asks in a growl, and the guard looks away in shame.

“They⎼  _they took her_ , your majesty.”

He doesn’t have the time to add anything else, because Steve is already rushing out of the room, not before glancing one last time at Carol. He’s going to take y/n back, he’s going to take her home safe and sound. For Carol as well.

It takes less than 2 days before they’re able to locate the group of bandits who kidnapped the Queen. They hid in the woods, hoping to sell you away for gold, but unaware that none of them shall live to see another day. When the sun goes down Steve and his soldiers start getting ready. They begged him not to go, of course. The king shouldn’t risk his life like that, but he won’t wait in a castle while you’re in danger.

“Going somewhere?”

Steve recognizes Carol’s voice without even turning. He keeps saddling his horse, undaunted.

“Are you here to stop me, Captain?”

Carol doesn’t reply. Instead, she reaches for her horse as well and orders her squire to get it ready. She can’t stand, even though it’s clear she’s still recovering from her injury.

“I’m coming with you,” she states in a firm tone when she notices Steve’s frown. She’s not asking for her king’s permission.

Steve is about to protest, he wants to tell her that she’s still too weak to go after those bandits, but he doesn’t say anything. He knows what’s going on in Carol’s mind. She failed to protect not only the Queen she’s sworn to serve but the love of her life as well, all at once. And now she has to save you, otherwise, she’ll go crazy.

Slowly, he nods. “It’ll be good to be on the same team, for once.”

When he married you he knew that you were in love with Carol. At first, he couldn’t stand being alone with her, the pain was too fresh. But then something changed. You and Steve, you grew closer. And he realized that he could never hate someone who cared so much for you. That’s when he found out that he and Carol are a lot alike.

Carol gives him a half smile as she mounts on her horse. “We were always on the same team, weren’t we?  _ **We both love her.**_ ”

## ***

It’s late at night when a loud sound wakes you up. You can hear screams, but you’re tied up and you can’t see anything. Everything it’s blurry and dark and you can’t do anything but stay still, listening, waiting.

Suddenly you feel someone’s cutting the ropes around your wrists and ankle, and a pair of arms lift you up to help you sit. The first thing you see is Carol’s face.

“Are you hurt?”

She’s all bruised and there’s a cut on her cheek, but other than that she’s fine. When the bandits attacked your carriage, you had feared the worst. You can feel the smile appearing on your face as you throw your arms around her neck.

“You found me,” you whisper while she holds you close, stroking your hair.

You can almost hear the smile in her voice when she corrects you. “ ** _We_**  found you.”

In perfect sync with your thoughts, Steve appears before your eyes and you let out a small giggle of pure joy and relief.

“Steve⎼  _You’re bleeding!_ ” you exclaim in concern. There’s blood all over his armour. He’s clearly worn off from the fight and he’s pale, but having him there makes you feel home. Having both of them at your side is what makes you happy, you realize in surprise.

He laughs, for the first time in two days. “I’m fine. Now that you’re safe,” he adds, and before he can stop himself he kisses you.

You kiss him back with such enthusiasm that he almost falls. When your lips part, you both look at Carol, alarmed. You know her so well, more than you know yourself, it’s almost too easy for you to understand what she’s feeling.

Much to Steve’s confusion, Carol’s mouth curves into a smirk.

All these years, you thought you could only love one person, and you felt like you had to choose in order to be truly happy. And yet, as you look at Steve and Carol smiling at each other, you understand that there is no choice but to love whoever you love.

Your heart belongs to Carol…  _and it also belongs to Steve_.

Duty may be the death of love, but that is not your case anymore: for it was never a story about duty, but one about the deepest love.


End file.
